Ambivalence
by TheArgentMoon
Summary: After years of torture, Victoria finally gets a taste of freedom. It is short-lived, though; Victoria's creators want her back and will do whatever it takes to reacquire her. Neither the Agency nor Diana can protect her, leaving 47 tasked with the job of keeping Victoria safe.
1. Prologue

_I was writing another Absolution fanfiction when a novel thought popped into my head: why write a story with a plot about which everyone already knows when I can just start afresh? The idea seemed much more enticing, thus this fanfiction was born.  
_ _Anyway, I hope you enjoy this tiny prologue and look forward to the rest of the story! No hard feelings if you don't; I strive only to entertain, not to persuade. Please feel free to review if you have the time; your comments would be much appreciated :)_

* * *

 _Prologue_

Darkness had fallen, though a sliver of sunlight still gleamed in the west. The rain beat in flurries outside, pattering softly against the thick glass of the window, and the ashen-grey clouds of the tempest raging over the sea cast an ominous shadow that stretched miles across the city.

Victoria sat on the floor by the expansive window in her room, her back propped against the wall and her legs stretched out lazily in front of her. Her mind was too preoccupied for sleep, so she settled for watching the storm turn the sky grey and the water into a black mass of violent, thrashing waves.

Most days, she spent her time with Diana. They would pass the early hours of the morning reading in the library, spend the day talking - though that was mostly done on Diana's part; what little recounts Victoria had were nowhere near as interesting as the ones that Diana had - or even just sit in each other's company in tacit silence. Although she knew trusted Diana implicitly, there was a strain in their conversations - barely noticeable, but still present - that made her suspect that information was constantly being filtered through to her. Given Diana's line of work, she supposed that that shouldn't surprise her, but the barrier was there. The only times when she felt no hesitancy were the moments they spent in silence. Victoria loved these moments, for they were when she truly felt that there was nothing between them - no shields or pretenses or secrets.

There were also days, however, during which Diana was kept busy with her job. Sometimes, Victoria wished she could listen to Diana work, listen to her and see how she and 47 worked together. But the thought of what their work entailed stayed the young girl's curiosity. Diana never spoke of her work anyway, for which Victoria ultimately decided she was grateful.

She spent hours in bed contemplating the nature of the work that the only two adults in the world she trusted did. Sometimes, she supposed that bad people deserved to die. After all, firsthand experience had proven just how unimaginably corrupt and cruel people could be. Other times, though, she wasn't sure that they did deserve death. She was still trying to decide whether or not she should be trying to justify it at all.

Tonight was different. In the middle of the night, having lied in bed for hours restlessly, Victoria had gotten up to get a glass of water from the kitchen. On the way back, she'd heard Diana speaking to someone urgently. Curiosity urged her to follow the sound to a room lined with computer monitors. A guard standing outside the door, coldly and unnervingly motionless, glanced briefly at her before reaching behind him and closing the door shut. He didn't utter a word, but the message was clear.

Upon realizing that she wasn't going to learn anything from her side of the soundproofed door, Victoria had slowly trodden back to her room. There, she'd heard the precursory rumblings of an impending storm and settled herself down by the window to watch it pass.

Now utterly exhausted, Victoria let her forehead rest against the smooth pane. Her warm breath fogged up the cold glass of the window as she relaxed and let her eyes slowly droop shut. Only when she felt the tugs of sleep slowly begin to draw her into a peaceful rest did she dismiss any worries or thoughts of what might be happening behind closed doors and succumb to the darkness. She sat there, letting the shadows of the room close about her like comforting arms.


	2. Chapter 1

_Firstly, thanks to Lyla G and EyeDen47 for your kind reviews! I really hope that the rest of my story will live up to your expectations!_

 _Sorry for the delayed update. For some reason, I had severe difficulty trying to put my plot into actual cohesive sentences._

 _Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Please feel free to review if you feel so inclined!_

* * *

 _Chapter 1_

"Victoria," came a soft voice, followed by a gentle knock on the door.

Victoria blinked her eyes open, rubbing the sleep from them. She pushed herself up on wobbly arms, then swung her legs over the side of the bed and crossed the room. After briefly fumbling in the dark for the handle, she opened the door to see Diana, standing as composedly and elegantly as she always was. Victoria had always admired that about her.

She didn't even need to see the despondent look in Diana's eyes to know that the visit meant bad news.

"Victoria," Diana repeated. She raised a hand as if to cup Victoria's cheek, but paused and let her hand hover, almost but never quite touching her, before curling her fingers in and pulling back. "I'm sorry. I truly am."

"Why? What's wrong? W-what's happening?" Victoria tried to meet Diana's eye with no avail. She was growing increasingly panicked by the second. "Diana?"

She looked up for a brief moment, just long enough to say, "I must ask again for you to be brave."

At that moment, one of the mansion's guards - which one, Victoria didn't know; they all looked the same to her - came running to them. Diana took a step away from Victoria and turned to face him, cool composure masking her face and concealing any sign of affection or warmth she may have had. Something about the way she could drop all signs of emotion, of humanness, sent a chill down Victoria's spine.

"Ma'am, there's a man waiting at the gate. He says you're expecting him. Does the, uh, number forty-seven mean anything to you?"

Victoria perked up at the mention of 47. _Perhaps they can bring good news after all_ , she thought to herself with a small smile. The smile disappeared almost as soon as it came, though. A moment of logical thinking told her that 47 wouldn't have come if there wasn't a serious problem. After all, he hadn't once come to see her. She turned her gaze to the grooves in the wooden flooring, wanting nothing more than to seep through the cracks into the cold ground below.

"Yes, let him in. I'll be down in a minute."

The guard promptly responded with a curt ' _Yes, ma'am_ ' before retreating to the hallway.

The cold, detached pretense dropped the second Diana turned back to Victoria. "Listen to me," she said in a calm tone. "Pack your belongings immediately. Meet me downstairs as sson as you are able to, and be prepared to leave."

At a loss for words, Victoria took a step back as Diana turned away. A flurry of questions clouded her head: what was going on? Where was she going? Why did she have to leave? Was Diana coming with her? She eventually found her voice, crying out, "Wait! Diana, I - what's happening?"

"Pack your bag first. I'll speak with you later." Diana paused at the door, casting one long glance at Victoria. Her arm moved almost imperceptibly, as if she was about to reach out to touch Victoria. Her hand never left her side, though, and the next moment she had turned and was walking away. A few sharp clicks of her low-heeled shoes later and she was gone.

After mindlessly placing a few sets of carefully ironed and folded clothing in a small leather backpack, Victoria slowly descended the stairs. Her steps were languid; though she had no idea what was going on, she knew it would be bad, and what was waiting for her downstairs would only prove it.

She paused when she heard the faint fragments of conversation being held in the next room. Diana's soft voice, coming across as tense and urgent, made her cringe a bit. She never liked that side of Diana, the one that reminded her of just what exactly she was capable of, of who she really was. Curious, she inched closer to the bottom of the staircase as quietly as she could.

"— but they won't get involved, regardless of the fact that it was Travis' atrocities being orchestrated right under their noses. They're refusing to take responsibility. She's completely vulnerable here. If there was any other way —"

The last step creaked under her weight, quiet enough that the sound would've gone unnoticed to the average person. But none of them were average people. Victoria froze, unsure of whether or not she should continue forward. After a few painful seconds of terse silence, she steeled herself and entered the foyer.

Standing rigidly next to Diana stood 47. He was dressed in his immaculate black suit and blood-red tie, and his face was as stoic as usual, though Victoria could've sworn his icy blue eyes softened just a bit as he caught sight of her. It could've just been wishful thinking on her part, though.

"Victoria," he said softly.

Victoria dropped her bag and ran towards him. She wrapped her arms around his torso, almost too ecstatic to notice his muscles tensing at the contact. He eventually brought his hands up to gingerly grasp her shoulders, the leather of his gloves squeaking faintly but not unpleasantly in her ears. Victoria forced herself to stand back, suddenly very conscious of herself and her childishness.

"I-I haven't seen you in months." She remembered all too well in vivid detail the last time she had seen him. After the traumatizing debacle that would be etched into her memory for years to come, 47 had dropped her off at Diana's mansion and left the next minute. He hadn't come back ever since. Victoria had a feeling that he'd been watching her from time to time, but a part of her also wondered if he really would've spared the time to do so.

Diana stepped closer to the two. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I'm afraid time is of the essence. We must be quick." She turned to face Victoria before continuing, resting her hands comfortingly on her slight shoulders. "I would not willingly abandon you, Victoria, especially not at a time like this. But I need you to be brave. I need you to trust me when I say you must leave."

"I don't understand. Aren't I safe here?" The mansion was the safest place Victoria could've imagined. It was isolated from the rest of Chicago and on tight lockdown 24/7, the guards were all thoroughly screened, it was even censored from satellite imaging. How could it not have been safe?

"There are people looking for you. People who are not to be underestimated. I am almost certain their search will start with me." Diana sighed as she looked at the understanding dawning on the girl. Her eyes misted as she processed her words.

"You're not coming with me then, are you?" She said, shifting her gaze to the ground. She already knew the answer.

"You'll be under 47's care the whole time. And this will only be temporary. Once the matter is settled, you'll come straight back here."

"When will that be? When will I see you again?" Victoria looked to Diana with pleading eyes, seeking some sort of reassurance even though she knew that there would be none.

Without hesitation, Diana gently pulled her into a warm embrace. "What matters is that we will meet again."

Victoria relaxed in Diana's arms, resting her head against the older woman's chest. Her arms wrapped around Victoria like the protective wings of a bird would to shield its young from the severe brutalities of the world. Victoria sighed, trying to engrave in her mind what the comforting warmth felt like before it was gone - much too soon, for Victoria's liking. She reluctantly let her arms drop.

"What about you? Where will you go?" Victoria asked.

Diana's light fingers brushed a stray strand of hair from Victoria's face. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine, and so will you. 47 will see to that." She sent an appreciative nod in his direction. "Now go. I know you're strong enough to do this." She pressed her lips to Victoria's forehead before stepping back.

47 picked up the neglected bag from the floor, then strode over to Victoria. "Come on." He placed a hand on her shoulder. Victoria slowly turned around. She followed in his footsteps, pausing only to glance one last time at Diana before walking out through the doorway into the bitter wind blowing softly outside. The doors closed behind her with a dull thud.

She stared up at the sky. Dawn had lightened the grey clouds and had calmed the storm, but the sun had yet to fully rise. The trees sighed in the gentle breeze, their leaves rustling in the wind. She could hear droplets of water falling rhythmically from the gutters, could smell the asphalt wetted and cleansed by the rain.

There had never been a moment more serene or desolate in her life.


	3. Chapter 2

_Thank you for your recent faves, follows and/or reviews, Guests, theguywhorocks100, (how do you like) themapples, InTheAsylum103, amandamars52, TKVonMerrik, lofenaian and Skadarken-Weiz! I'm glad that you're enjoying the story so far :)  
_ _Sorry for the extremely long wait, and thanks for your patience. I'm likely still going to edit this one further (and might rewrite it completley), but thought I should at least post what I have now.  
_ _So without further ado, here is Chapter 2. Happy reading!_

* * *

 _Chapter 2_

Soft rays of sunlight bore through the impeccably clean windshield. The hot summer air drew beads of sweat from 47's skin. He reached with one hand to adjust the stiff tie tied just a little too snugly around his neck. His body was sweltering underneath the layers of thick starched clothing he wore, but he paid the minor discomfort no mind. As occupation would have it, he had suffered and endured much worse before.

He paused momentarily before turning on the AC, glancing to his right at the girl in the passenger seat. Her head was turned away from him. All he could see was auburn hair draped across her shoulders, in disarray from her having stirred in her sleep. She had moved a lot, jerking her head to the side at times and whimpering softly. He knew all too well what the cause of her nightmares must have been.

His eyes flickered to the necklace resting against her chest as it rose and fell with each of her soft breaths.

After all that had happened, he had expected her to rid herself of it. She had been so close to it, to severing herself from a life which would only cause her harm and pain. A life which 47 was much too well acquainted with. A life unbefitting of anyone - let alone a fifteen year-old girl. And yet, she hadn't.

He turned his attention back to the road when a soft groan escaped her lips.

"How long have I been asleep?" She asked quietly.

47 gripped the steering wheel, flexing his fingers in a futile attempt to relieve some of the tension that seemed to perpetually plague him. "Not long. You can continue to rest."

Victoria shook her head. She stretched the stiffness out of her neck before straightening up in her seat. "I'm fine. I…" She paused, dropping her gaze to her lap. "I don't feel like sleeping anymore."

Though she tried to hide it, 47 could see the almost imperceptible shudder that coursed through her body. He didn't need to hear it to know what it was that was causing her unease. After all, what would always be a part of her was also a part of him.

They sat in silence. Out of the corner of his eye, 47 followed Victoria's movements. Though she sat still, her eyes roamed around the car, peering curiously out the window at times, at the dashboard at others, occasionally up at him - though she immediately averted her gaze when she did. A few times she appeared to be on the cusp of initiating conversation, only to think better of it and remain silent.

The only noise came from the car's tinny speakers. The steely guitar riff and gravelly vocals were just loud enough to be heard over the low hum of the engine.

"47?" Victoria's soft voice pierced the tepid ambience of the car. "Can… Can I ask you something?"

47 remained silent, his body unmoving and eyes locked straight ahead.

She sighed before continuing, fidgeting with her slight fingers. "It's just that I… I heard you and Diana earlier, before we left."

He had been aware that she had been listening to his and Diana's conversation. What he didn't know was how much of it she had heard. He clenched his jaw and tightened his hold on the driving wheel, keeping as still as possible as he waited for Victoria to continue.

"It sounded like… It was almost as if…" She took a deep breath and paused, then let out a defeated sigh. Within the next second, the car was once again plunged into silence.

After a few minutes of careful examination of her hands, Victoria raised her head and reached for the stereo controls. Her small fingers hesitantly turned the knob, and slowly the music started to swell. 47 glanced curiously towards her. She had closed her eyes, hand still poised above the speakers, basking in the rich timbres that filled the air.

"I like music." She said without moving. "Diana… she gave me a bunch of old CD's from her collection. Some of them were just okay. But others, I liked."

She paused, glancing up at 47 to see if he was paying attention. He stared straight ahead, but she continued anyway. "Nina Simone, Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra… They may be old, but their music just makes you feel what they were feeling when they sang it. It's… Hm." She trailed off, as if suddenly remembering something.

47 looked briefly over at her. Her face was void of what little joy and warmth she conveyed in her tone. It was as if a darkness had somehow covered her features.

"It's funny. For the longest time, I thought I didn't have a soul. That's what they always said. But if I like _soul_ music, that must mean I have a soul, right?" An empty smile drifted across her face, one that never reached her eyes.

47 kept his gaze towards the road ahead. "Right," he replied.

Victoria whipped her head up, shocked to hear him respond. This time, her smile was genuine. She settled back into her seat, resting her head and gazing lazily out the window.

The blazing sun had set, but the heat still hung heavily in the air. Victoria had long ago shed her jacket, though it made almost no difference, and had tied her long hair back. Though she found her body could deal with temperature quite well - she supposed if there was one perk to being an experimental lab subject, that would be it - staying cool was much more comfortable.

Hot, dry night winds, no cloud coverage… Victoria constructed a mental map of the states, narrowing down where they might have been. She had tried asking 47 before they'd left where they were going, but he'd only told her that it was safer if she didn't know yet. Well lit, and well populated, but all low buildings. Suddenly it clicked.

"We're taking a plane?" She sat upright, and though he showed no indication of it, she could tell 47 was surprised by her sudden outburst.

"Yes."

She waited for him to elaborate, but soon realized he had no intention of continuing. "Can you tell me now where we're going?" She pressed. Excitement was starting to stir in her; she had never left the country as far as she was aware, but had always dreamed of seeing and travelling the world. She childishly hoped their destination would be out of country.

"No," was his only response.

"Why? What can happen in a few hours?"

47 stiffened in his seat, then slowed the car to a stop. Victoria suddenly grew silent as a chill ran down her spine. She didn't need to ask to know what was happening.

"A lot can." He replied before opening the front compartment and drawing out two shining metal pistols. "Stay out of sight."

Victoria didn't protest, knowing full well how important it was to follow his exact instructions. She nodded as he calmly opened the door and stepped outside the car. She pulled her jacket on again, running through the many outcomes of this encounter. It was too dark to make out much, but something told her that the danger lay not too far away somewhere to their left. Apparently 47 thought so too, for he immediately set off in that direction. He walked around the path of the streetlights, and within the next second vanished from view. Victoria studied the two-storey building at the corner of the intersection ahead. She knew inexplicably that that was where he was headed.

The next few minutes passed by slowly, and Victoria grew more and more restless with each second. She peered through the darkness into the dingy second floor window; for such a small space and sparse area, there couldn't have been more than two or three people inside. Whoever was after her must've known that 47, or at least a competent crew of bodyguards, would be with her. Something wasn't right.

It wasn't long before she grew too anxious to stay seated. Something urged her to get out of the car. Quiet as a mouse, Victoria hopped lightly out of the car and gently closed the door. Making sure to avoid the dim light from the streetlights, she followed 47's path, stopping outside the back entrance to the building. She placed a hand on the rusty doorknob, but quickly stepped back as she thought better of it. Settling on hiding nearby, Victoria shimmied in between the dense shrubbery by the wire fence. It wasn't large enough to entirely cover her, but the near pitch black darkness would hide her adequately enough.

A few uneventful and uncomfortable minutes passed. Victoria was shifting in her awkward crouching position, wondering if she had made a bad decision, when the sound of oncoming footsteps - several of them - reached her. She froze, squinting through the leaves at a group of men surrounding the car she had just been in not five minutes ago. Internally, she was pleased and relieved by her good judgement call, but also terrified at the scene in front of her. One of the figures signalled with his arm, then wrenched open the car door. He shook his head and gestured toward the building, and the others silently approached it - and her.

She held her breath and counted as each man passed. There were six, all armed with silenced firearms - of what types, she had trouble recognizing - and what she could only assume were switchblades harnessed at their hips. Each was completely clad in black, with a bullet-proof vest and sturdy-looking helmet. Whoever they were, they clearly meant business.

47 had to have heard them, had to have been aware that they were coming… But if for some reason he wasn't, she wasn't sure what would happen. He was certainly capable of taking care of himself, but even _he_ had to have his limits, didn't he? She fingered her necklace as she deliberated. Whatever decision she would make, she had to make it fast. They were already gathered at the door and preparing to enter.

Just as the first man touched the doorknob, Victoria reached out her hand from underneath the bushes. One man's leg was within arm's reach. Without a second thought, she grasped his ankle and pulled hard.

His exclaim of surprise was so brief before he hit the ground it almost went unnoticed by the others for a split second. Then chaos erupted. Victoria snapped her elbow into the side of his knee, eliciting a scream of pain from the man, and grabbed the blade from his harness before launching herself out of her hiding place and into her second target. She plunged the blade into his lower back, right between the vertebrae where she knew she could rupture the spinal cord.

Already anticipating the oncoming fire, she held up his limp body to shield herself, then rammed his body into the next closest man. She fell to the ground as an onslaught of bullets whizzed by her head, grabbing the nearest abandoned gun off the ground before rolling to the side. Her fingers calmly pointed the muzzle into the side of the felled man, pulled the trigger, then whipped the sights up and towards the few remaining others cursed and ducked for cover, but not before she had shot two more of them in the spaces their vests didn't cover.

Five down; only one more to go. She scrambled to take cover, searching hastily for the last one.

It took her a second too late to sense the presence behind her. Victoria whipped around just as the tip of a blade came swooshing down at her head. She lifted the gun in defense, stopping the blow an inch above her forehead. Her feet were trapped, unable to kick as she pushed herself upwards against the knife. She could risk trying to get a kick in, but if she so much as wavered in the slightest, the knife would slice into her skin. Victoria steeled herself anyway, risking the injury if it meant living another day.

Just as she was about to shift position, the pressure lifted as the man was suddenly yanked backward. Victoria fell back panting, and the man soon crumpled to the ground beside her, lifeless. She slowly braved a glance upwards.

47 wound his garrotte and tucked it neatly into his pocket as he glared down at her. Though his face betrayed no emotion, she could tell he was angry. Likely very angry.

Victoria scrambled to her feet, wiping off the dirt from her scraped knees and crumpled clothing. "There were so many, a-and you hadn't come out yet. I was -"

"You were disobeying my orders. Next time, you will do exactly as I say. Do you understand?"

She couldn't even bear meeting his gaze, so she looked straight down at the dead grass as she replied. "Yes."

The sharp bursts of a few silenced gunshots ripped her gaze from the ground. "W-What are you doing?" She ran up to see what was happening.

47 was walking past the bodies lying on the ground, shooting each in the head as he passed them. She had consciously left each, albeit in immense pain and severely injured, at the very least alive. He was taking out each one as hastily as was possible.

"Keeping us alive. Dead men don't speak."

Victoria looked away as he finished the last of them. One final scream pierced the air before it died away with the wind. Then silence.

She drew in a shaky breath before turning to 47, who was already making his way back to the car. With nothing else to do but follow, Victoria trailed him on shaky legs, taking care not to step in any pools of blood painting the ground crimson red.


End file.
